Thucydides, early in his account of the war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians, expresses his intention to write a book that will reveal the truth about “that which is human” and then remarks that his book will therefore be “a possession for all time.”1 Thucydides’ explicitly philosophic intention in writing this book in order to convey lasting truths about the character and condition of human beings suggests that his book is better understood as a work of philosophy than as a work of history. Yet, while the end of his book is philosophic–to teach the permanent and universal truth about human nature–the means is historical–to give an account of a particular conflict between the alliance of the Peloponnesians, led by the city of Sparta, and the city of Athens.

The stochastic actor-oriented model is a statistical model for network dynamics, meant to be used for network panel data, that is, repeated measurements of a network on a given set of actors. This chapter gives an introduction to the probability model, in three flavors: a short intuitive explanation, a long conceptual one, and a mathematical explanation. These alternative, complementary formulations cater to readers with different interests, backgrounds, and preferences. The model assumes that between the moments of measurement, the network changes gradually in unobserved small steps. The heart of the model is the ministep, playing a basic role together with the evaluation function and the rate function. The ministep is the fundamental event in which actors have the opportunity of changing one network tie; the subsequently measured networks are connected by a sequence of unobserved ministeps. The probabilities of network change in the ministep depend on the evaluation function according to a conditional multinomial logit model. The rate at which ministeps take place is given by the rate function. The model is also formulated as a simulation model. The chapter ends with a brief history of the model.

This chapter details Herodotus’ Egyptian narrative, which has long been a topic of scholarly controversy. I argue that Herodotus presents Egypt as living culture dedicated to the active preservation of the past, in line with Egyptian self-presentation. This real cultural difference furthers Herodotus’ comparative political theory; the Hellenes appear jejune and conceited in comparison. The culturally mediated conception of the past cultivated by Egyptian conventions also offers a foil to Herodotus’ own historical inquiry. Through tracing the way that the Egyptians actively archive and reenact a hallowed past, Herodotus traces the way that attitudes toward the status of the past affect human flourishing in the present. The Egyptian narrative thus furthers his philosophical inquiry into the relationship between nature and convention.

This chapter gives the requirements for a network data set to be analyzed by the models of this book and mentions some example data sets. Basic visual and numerical descriptives are presented. Finally, a brief history of network panel data collection is given.

This chapter treats the basic methods for connecting the model to empirical data: estimating and testing parameters. These are based on computer simulations of the model with provisional hypothetical values of the model’s parameters. To give some intuitive understanding, the chapter starts with a toy model. It goes on to describe how parameters are estimated in the RSiena package by the method of moments and the Robbins–Monro algorithm. Subsequently, methods are given for testing the parameters. Special attention is given to the score-type test, which is a method for testing parameters without estimating them. This can be useful, for example, for cases of complete or quasi-complete separation, where estimated parameter values would be infinitely large or nearly so. Conceptual questions about whether it is meaningful at all to use statistical models for data are discussed in a section about model-based inference. The chapter ends with a brief history of this methodology for analyzing network dynamics.

This chapter treats the estimation of parameters in co-evolution models. Particular attention is given to the estimation of parameters in models that include selection (effects of behavior on the network) as well as influence (effects of the network on behavior). Some advice is given about model specification, with examples. The chapter also discusses the intricate issue of causality: To what extent can it be stated that the associated methods disentangle influence from selection? It is concluded that methods such as those in this book will reveal causality only in a temporal sense: Can behavior change be represented (in part) as a consequence of the network (“network as antecedent”), and/or can network change be represented (in part) as a consequence of the behavior (“network as a consequence”). The chapter ends with some historical remarks.

This chapter outlines the ‘history’ of the development and testing of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), one of the first time-limited, manualised, evidence-based psychological treatments for depression. This overview places the inception of IPT in greater context of social history and changes in best practices in the field of psychiatry. This chapter also highlights the career of Dr. Gerald Klerman, the primary developer of IPT, and the legacy of research in IPT that was largely continued by Dr. Myrna Weissman, his collaborator and spouse. In reviewing the history of IPT, this chapter provides a broad overview of the components of the intervention, it’s adaptations for different clinical populations and settings and the research studies that have established IPT as an evidence-based psychological treatment for the past 50 years. Hence, this chapter is an excellent overview of the very detailed chapters that will follow in the book. The chapter ends with a discussion of future directions and challenges for disseminating IPT to wider clinical providers and populations in the upcoming decade.

In Chapter 4, a history of the scientific method and the philosophies of science and technology are presented. The relationship between science, technology, and government indicate the impact of scientism and technological determinism on government policymaking, including a growing neglect of human well-being.

Swedish Match did not exist as a corporate entity until the twentieth century. Before that, Sweden was home to as many as 140 match factories. Almost all these factories eventually merged to form Swedish Match in 1917. This chapter provides a history of Swedish Match and how it came to be. The chapter also reflects on the critical role played by Ivar Kreuger, the founder of Swedish Match, who became known around the world as the Match King.

In recent years, scholars of International Relations and the Middle East have increasingly argued that the region’s enduring colonial legacies render postcolonial theory not merely relevant but essential. This chapter contends that the relationship also works in the opposite direction: the Middle East has been central to the emergence and evolution of postcolonial thought. It traces the disciplinary and historical foundations of postcolonialism, outlines its key claims and limitations, and concludes with an analysis of Syria as an illustrative case of postcolonial inquiry in the Middle Eastern context.

‘Ulysses’ positions James Joyce’s novel as arguably the most famous Irish novel in history and, simultaneously, a work that puts into question those three terms: Ireland, novel, and history. Ulysses can be read as a disruption of narrativity itself, through a reordering of temporality, in the novel’s focus on instants of vital experience and each moment’s entanglement with other times. As such, it questions the possibility of a linear historiography. As Joyce releases narration from straightforward realist sequence, he recasts standard plots of nineteenth century, such as the extramarital affair and the story of individual formation, through a varied and fragmented series of narrative forms. Ulysses adapts literary modes drawn from multiple European literatures to develop characters with complex relationships with Ireland. Ultimately, this problematising of key definitional terms has been liberating for subsequent Irish writers, particularly women, in devising new forms to give voice to hitherto occluded experience.

Historical sociology (HS) is not a typical approach to International Relations (IR). Rather, it is a fascinating scholarly tradition that offers rewarding conceptual, theoretical, and methodological tools to the student of IR. HS explores how past events, formations, and developments shape contemporary political units, actors, and ideas. It examines how and why actors – such as regimes, political movements, or individuals – interact within constraining contexts to generate intended and occasionally unintentional consequences. HS frees the analysis from seemingly timeless concepts such as ‘state’ or ‘anarchy’. This chapter explores HS in two main sections. Section 2.1 explores the sociological origins and main tenets of HS by engaging key founding theorists in this tradition. Section 2.2, the case study, examines the social origins of the 1952 revolution in Egypt and its impact on its foreign policy. The section illustrates how social factors, which originated in the eighteenth century, and colonialism coupled with changes in the international balance of power in the post-World War II period contributed to the revolution and, subsequently, a revision of Egyptian foreign policy in the period 1952–1970.

This chapter provides an overview of and reflection upon the chapters in this textbook. It uses the philosopher Aristotle to frame its reflections on theory, empirics, and normativity. It locates the chapters into three categories: social scientific (explanatory), historical (understanding), and normative (evaluative). While this does not capture the fullness of each chapter, it provides a way to see what they do in relation to wider trends in International Relations. In addition, the chapter looks to the contribution that these chapters and this textbook make to debates on globality and plurality - that is, how this textbook as a whole contributes to moving beyond the provincialism of Western International Relations theory.

The conclusion, titled “Meaning and Memory,” considers the underlying strands of community, nature, and memory as we work to better understand not only the history of Camp Ford but captivity and the Civil War as a whole.

This introduction sets out the key definitions of the digital humanities as community, conversation, tactic, and intersection.